https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/87/
Engagement Annulment
A few weeks after I met Lily in the treasure house, a party is being held to announce her marriage.
Since it’s a wedding between the prestigious and ancient Ruhuna family and the representatives of the emerging aristocrats, the Candy family, there will be several hundred attendees from a wide variety of backgrounds gathered in the large hall that would serve as the party’s venue.
A lot of people there were acquaintances I made after becoming a hero, so they must’ve made sure to recruit a full lineup of the country’s most influential people.
Our generation of heroes were also invited as guests under the pretext of being Lily’s friends.
I took a seat at a round table, and everyone else there with me were all familiar faces.
I see Peony, Ran, and Ren every day now, so it’s business as usual there however it had been over a month since I saw Melia and Nerine. It was nice having the chance to catch up with them.
Melia had been picked up by a major guild and is now working there as a healer. Although it’s not publicly known that she can bring people back from the dead, she was apparently scouted by someone who saw her revive Nerine during the second screening.
Nerine was the real surprise though. She told us she had formed a partnership to start distributing magic tools with Ronaldo, the merchant who previously hosted that “grassroots” prostitution party for hero candidates.
It’s hard dealing with something as important as food when the country’s most senior nobles are watching your every mood, so he apparently wanted to diversify and handle other products. Meanwhile Nerine was looking for a partner she knew wouldn’t bend to the Candy family’s influence. Lily apparently introduced the two of them since she knew their interests were aligned.
She said she would first try to mass-produce a tool for purifying water to help out the commoners. Apparently selling adult toys on a large scale didn’t sound appealing to her.
When I glanced over at the very center of the party while listening to everyone’s conversation, I saw that an aristocratic dance with an orchestra playing had just begun.
“Hero Liffy-sama. If it would please you, how about sharing a dance with me, the heir to an Earl family?”
“No, come with me”
“I am the second son to a duke. I will be in your care.”
As soon as the music started, a group of men who all seemed to be the sons of nobles crowded around us.
But not only do I not have any interest in any of them, they’ve crossed the line of being nuisances since they’re interfering with today’s plan.
“Sorry. I’m not interested in men.”
The noblemen who were all crowding around me all took a step back, eventually leaving after they realized what I was saying.
“Rather than men, it’s more like anyone who isn’t Lily.”
Ran grumbled under her breath, so I sent her a glare and stomped on her foot.
“Ouchie.”
“Be serious, for today at least. We don’t have the time to fool around.”
“Yeah I got it. It’s for our dear Lily-sama after all.”
I stomped on Ran’s foot again. This time I twisted my heel around a couple times to really dig it in there before calming down.
“Lily-chan. Be careful.”
Melia spoke up while looking obviously anxious.
“Thank you. But I’m not going to be doing anything that serious. It’s Lily who will be doing all the heavy lifting.”
At this point, there were all sorts of pairs who had formed and started dancing in the middle of the venue. And at the very center of that group is Lily and Nerine’s older brother. They’re the stars of this show.
Lily is wearing a white dress with a wide hem, and even though her heels couldn’t get much higher, each step she takes is light and practiced.
Nerine’s older brother had his arm wrapped around Lily’s waist while wearing a stupid-looking grin. The fact he thinks he’s managed to attract this beautiful woman with his charm is causing a murderous rage to boil up in my chest. There are no plans to kill him in today’s mission, but that doesn’t mean I can’t afford to be a little creative with my imagination.
The surrounding guests stopped their own dancing after a certain point in the song to make the main characters stand out.
The crowd, motionless, stared at the young man and woman who barely knew each other. I couldn’t care less about the guy, but when you’re faced with the most beautiful woman in the world, I can understand why’d you want to stare. Especially when that woman has those lively eyes capable of looking into the future.
The dance progressed slowly in time with the music.
I snacked on finger food resting at our table to fill my stomach as I waited for the main event to begin.
It’s a noble wedding celebration that couldn’t be going any more peacefully. Then in complete contradiction of that serene atmosphere, there was a loud thud as someone fell to the ground. A second later there was a loud groan followed by a high-pitched scream. That’d be the signal.
We pushed through the throngs of people and made our way to the center of the dance floor. Lily was there with a clearly insane expression on her face, and Nerine’s poor older brother had a knife dug into his leg. Nobody wanted to get any closer. Nobody besides this country’s brave heroes of course.
“Lily! What do you think you’re doing!?”
When Ran approached Lily, Lily shoved a couple people aside and made a break for the great hall’s exit. Those closest to the exit hadn’t realized what was going on just yet, and they staggered to the side when Lily rushed past them.
“Everyone! Leave this to us heroes! Stay calm, take a seat, and don’t leave this room!”
Ren started for the exit as if she were chasing Lily and took control of the venue. Lily had quickly escaped through the door, but since Ren had just as quickly blocked it, nobody could follow after her.
Peony took Melia to heal Nerine’s brother. I felt bad for the guy since it looked like he is in a lot of pain. Then I remembered how low his arm was around Lily’s waist, and I got over it.
Ran and I left the room, passing Ren by to chase after Lily.
There are security guards patrolling the venue’s hallways, but we found all of them beaten into the ground with enough force that the metal of their armor was bent in.
No matter how talented Lily is, she doesn’t have this kind of power. Thanks to the detective skills I’d honed through my hero training, I deduced that wounds like these could only have been dealt by an evil head of a noble family or a single mother mage.
We continued down the hallway and continued to the right. The door to the room at the far corner was slightly ajar.
When I rushed into the room with Ran, Lily caught me in her arms.
“Liffy, are you sure this is okay? You don’t know how my father will react.”
Lily’s anxious eyes gazed into mine.
“It’s all right. Don’t worry.”
Lily almost never looks nervous, but she’s unbelievably cute when she does. I ran my hand through her hair, not caring how it messes it up.
“You two get along well enough. Just when I think it’s been a long time since you messaged me, you come and ask me to attack some soldiers.”
“It isn’t a terrible idea for those of us who participated in the auditions to cooperate with each other like this. I hope to be able to count on your assistance myself should the opportunity ever arrive.”
Dahlia and Olive. They defeated the soldiers guarding this hallway ahead of time and hid in this room. Of course, I’m the one who asked them to secure a safe escape route for Lily, but I didn’t have something quite that flashy in mind.
“I’m rooting for the two of you, but….is this really going to work out? Things could easily change on you depending on Daddy Dearest’s mood….”
“It’ll be fine. Absolutely. I believe in Liffy.”
“Look at you, getting yourself swept off your feet and blindly believing in who you love.”
Olive glanced at Lily. I doubt she’ll bring it up herself, but it looks like her betrayal in the last vote is still hanging over her head, and things feel a little awkward between her and Lily.
“Olive….I hold no grudge against you. Thank you for your cooperation in this.”
“….You’ve become quite honest. Perhaps another year under house arrest would turn you into a proper saint. Come Dahlia-san, let us depart.”
I guess Olive wasn’t ready to be just forgiven like that. Perhaps to hid her embarrassment, she let out a huff through her nose and fled out the room’s window.
“They were supposed to run away as soon as their jobs were finished, but Olive just can’t be honest when it comes to Lily.”
Ran looked out the window the two of them had fled out with a grin. Olive is Olive, and there are a lot of ways she thinks that I just don’t understand. For all I know, Olive might think Lily betrayed her first when Lily prioritized her own personal feelings and put the deal they made at risk.
“Well….it’s about time for the pursuers to arrive. Everyone ready? Just a little longer Lily.”
Lily’s already passed the point of no return for herself. If she’s feeling worried, it’s because of my own inadequacies in leading her.
However, after biting her lips, Lily seemed to have made up her mind in some way. She looked straight at me.
“Liffy, you saved me. No matter what happens, I will never give up.”
Those aren’t exactly the words I want, but as long as Lily is positive about all this, it’s good enough.
“I’m happy to hear that. A timid Lily turns me on, but after all, I don’t think there’s anything better than enjoying your bullying.”
“Do you want to do it here then? I wouldn’t mind letting Ran watch.”
Lily brushed her palm against my cheek.
“Hey, it’s about time. Save the flirting for later.”
Ran shook her head after checking the situation outside the room. It sounds like our pursuers have finally made it here. I guess I really don’t have the time to have some fun with Lily after all.
“Sorry about this. It’s going to hurt a bit, but we can just have Peony heal you later.”
After giving her a warning, Ran put Lily into an armlock and pushed her onto the ground. Her face slammed into the floor hard enough that it made me wince by association.
“Liffy, no matter what happens after this, I will love you forever.”
Lily spoke up after her face had hit the floor and blood was dripping out of her nose. I really wish she had said that sooner.
“Ah….m-me too!”
Unable to react to her sudden confession, I gave the best response I could.
“Oi! I caught Lily in here!”
Ran shouted to attract the guards to where we were. My opportunity to talk with Lily had passed. After sharing one final look with her, I jumped out of the door and waved the third party inside.
“This way! Hurry up with the shackles!”
By the time Lily had irons clamped on her wrists, she had a bleeding nose, dead eyes, and her previous radiant beauty had completely disappeared.
She did something like this before when she had me pretend to be dead and tricked Nerine. Lily is an amazing actor.
We returned to the hall with the battered Lily accompanied by the guards who had no idea that any of this was an act.
Experimental Translations 